Petal in the Wind
by Salvis Ren
Summary: Sasuke and Naruto can feel this coming into their backs. I refuse to stand behind them any longer. They can accept me as an equal, or they can let me pass them by…During the time skip. Sakura and Lee:


**Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura, or any of the other characters!**

Sakura leaned against the tree softly. Cherry blossoms rushed and danced over her head, encouraging her to be happy again. She wouldn't succumb to fake happiness again, though. She had thought she was happy when she was chasing after Sasuke. It felt like real love, but it was empty. The last straw was gone when he left Konoha, remaining completely unaffected by her unrestrained confession.

Then she had thought she could find hope in Naruto. He was her close friend, and almost like a brother. They trained, walked, talked, ate, and cried together. Of course, until he left, too. Everytime she felt close to grasping a true friend, someone to stand by her, they were gone like a flash. Always so much stronger than her and always so eager to brush her away like dust in the wind.

_I'm done being weak. It's time to step it up. I don't want anyone else to leave me,_ she thought. The cherry blossom petals continued to spin. Without looking, she reached upward in hopes of catching one. Sadly, none fell into her small hand. _I truly am useless. A stupid burden to everyone I meet._

She turned and pounded her fist into the bark of the tree. She gained a few scratches and a sore hand.

"Wow…the tree hurt me more than I hurt it. I…I need someone to help me," she whispered to herself. She knew who she had to talk to. She was so weak it was painful to know it. She would drive herself forward, and never look back. _Sasuke won't look back, and Naruto definitely won't look back, so why should I? My past is gone; this day starts my new life, as a kunoichi who will be respected as the most powerful medic-nin to live. That's what I'll be._

_----------------------------------------------------_

"Thank you, Tsunade!" Sakura called as she sprinted from the fifth Hokage's office. Her cropped, pink hair brushed against the back of her neck lightly. _One lesson down, one to go!_ Sakura thought as she ran excitedly toward the dojo.

An anxious ninja, clad in green and sporting his usual bowl haircut, awaited Sakura's arrival at the dojo, ready to train her. She hadn't remembered most likely, but this was her 300th day of training with him, and it meant something to him. She had grown so much it was terrifying. Her unbreakable will was rivaled only by her mentor, Tsunade's. He knew how much she wanted to catch up with her team mates, who had left to be trained by other Sannin.

One thing she had asked Lee, though, was if he could teach her Taijutsu. She claimed to be worthless at ninjutsu, and she had said that the only thing she needed to know was how to fight like Lee himself. He had trained with her diligently for almost a year now, and she was able to hold her own quite well against him by this point.

"Hey, Lee. Ready?" Sakura huffed as she finally halted her dead run from medic training. Lee grinned at her and held up a finger.

"You know what day it is?" he asked.

Sakura furrowed her brows, trying hard to think of what day it might be. Lee's birthday? No. _My _birthday? No.

"Sorry, I can't think of what. Tell me."

"This is your 300th day of training with me. You know that?" Lee asked.

"Oh really? No way! It can't have been that long! It seems like we haven't even been training long at all!"

"As your reward for fantastic endurance and determination, I have a present for you," he teased. Sakura smirked.

"And what might that be?"

Lee whisked a light pink cake out from behind his back. He held it out to her in a mock gentleman way. She played along, pretending to be shocked. Lee got down on one knee, and treated the cake as a wedding ring.

"I do! I do accept this lovely cake," she said with a chuckle. She took it from his hands and inspected it thoroughly. It was so cute, and very well baked.

"Thanks, Lee!" she said.

"Alright then, Sakura. You should go in, and I will catch up with you in a second."

Sakura walked into the tall, sand filled dojo warily. Had it really been 300 days already? _300 days, and how far have Naruto and Sasuke come? If only I could ask them…_ A tear wound its way down her cheek slowly. She swept it away quickly and forced herself to smile.

_They must be learning a lot. I'll never catch them…_ She suddenly caught sight of a lump of clothing in the middle of the dojo. She approached the clothing, and saw a note sitting on top of it.

_Dear Sakura,_

_For all of your hard work, I would like to give you this new outfit. The dress you wear now is not good for fighting, and since you are so good at fighting now, I thought I would have to find you better clothing._

_Your friend, Rock Lee_

He never really could give enough presents. Everytime she turned around, there was another gift for her. She picked up the outfit carefully, brushing the bits of sand off of it. There was a red tank top with the Haruno symbol on its back, a pair of black shorts, a tan over-skirt, and new black boots.

She loved this gift, and it was so much better than her present outfit. She slipped away to the restroom to make sure that it fit.

Lee walked back into the dojo happily. Seeing that the outfit was gone, he knew that Sakura had found it. He hoped that she liked it.

So much trouble and hardship threw itself at the girl, and he wanted to be able to do something to ease her pain. It hurt him to see her so down. He cursed Sasuke Uchiha to himself, and hoped that the boy never set foot in poor Sakura's life again. He had stepped all over her heart, and left her behind, shattered.

In Naruto's case, he had no choice but to pack up and leave for training, and Lee wished him good luck. He knew that there was something about Naruto that could heal even the most broken of hearts, and when he came back, a little of Sakura would come back, too.

Sakura walked back into the dojo, fully dressed in her new outfit. She smiled and spun for Lee. He clapped and smiled back.

"Now I am ready to start, Sakura. Come at me!" Lee yelled. He made a mock call for the kunoichi, and braced himself. She was stronger, but not by a lot. Her moves had become surprisingly better, but her actual power was not too terribly high.

"Lee, before we start, is there any way I can increase the impact of my hits?" she asked. Lee had feared she would ask. He knew of no ways she could hit any harder than she already did.

"I actually do not know. Maybe you should experiment with it a little bit, to see if something clicks for you."

"I…I could send chakra into my fists, right?" she asked.

"I don't think so, Sakura. You would have to have immense chakra control, like the Hokage. I do not think you are ready."

Sakura frowned. She stared down at her fists angrily. _Why can't you be worth anything?! Well, he doubts me. If there's anything I've learned from Tsunade, it's that we should never accept others' doubts. I suppose I'll just have to prove him wrong._

"Lee, after this day, you won't ever doubt me again."

Lee smirked and imitated her playfully. Sakura frowned seriously, and Lee sobered himself quickly. The fire in her eyes told him that he shouldn't be taking her words lightly. He was scared of what she was going to make herself do.

Sakura closed her eyes, feeling the chakra flow through her body. _Now, down to my fists._ She ran fast enough to get a good leap at Lee. He stuck up his arms, prepared to block her attack. As she was about to collide her fist and his arm, she channeled all of her power into her arm. It circulated wildly through her knuckles as she slammed her fist into his arm.

Lee jolted and flew backward a few yards. He simply lay on the ground a few seconds before sitting up excitedly.

"Sakura, you will never cease to amaze me! That was incredible."

Sakura blushed at his compliment, and stared down at her fist. _Sasuke and Naruto can feel this coming into their backs. I refuse to stand behind them any longer. They can accept me as an equal, or they can let me pass them by…_

_----------------------------_

**Okay, first chapter, first story, please review,**

**~Salvis Ren**


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